Holy Week

Life has been incredibly crazy the last 2 weeks.  I have been doing a pretty terrible job of reflecting on this Holy Week about Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. But I am excited that originally I was unable to make the Easter Vigil Mass but a change in schedule has made it now possible it seems!

Lord, may we all slow down this Good Friday and remember your Love.

Ok everyone, have a Blessed Easter Weekend!

“Illegal Aliens”

When I was in college I did a lot of studying about immigration and had an opportunity to visit our country’s borders and talk with border patrol agents, immigration lawyers and judges, and stay at a Catholic Worker house that provided shelter to people who cross borders undocumented or documented.  It’s always been something that has touched my heart because I think the issue of illegal immigration goes beyond just the fact that people are crossing our borders without legal papers.

Basically people who come here illegally to work are not protected by any workers’ rights like we are.  They don’t get treated fairly and work under pretty horrible conditions.  But it’s better pay and the conditions here are better than they are in Latin America.  Without getting into a full blown political discussion about immigration and economy, basically I feel that because of how hard the U.S. makes it to become a legal resident and our foreign policy on NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreements) it has created this immigration problem for ourselves.  It’s very interesting in light of the newly declared sins by the Catholic Church that social and economic injustice are both sins. But at the same time, people who cross borders without documentation have broken a law and some sense of order must be kept to protect our country against the threat of terrorism.   It is also my personal belief that because God created this earth, who am I to draw a line and say that you or anyone else cannot cross it.

I was delighted to see that Tony Campolo wrote a great article about a possible solution.   So what are you waiting for? Go read it!

God is Green

And it’s not easy being green.   Ok, sorry. But did you see the news? The Vatican has officially declared that pollution is a sin. It makes sense.  We (as in all of humanity) were entrusted with the earth and all that was in it to take care of. (Review Genesis for further study.)  It boils down to what we do matters.  Everything.  Right down to the piece of gum you spit out on the ground or the trash that you throw away.  By taking care of our earth, we show respect and thanks to the Creator who made it all.  By taking care of our earth, we take care of one another.  Among the other sins that were officially announced were genetic manipulation: including cloning, stem cell research; drug trafficking and social and economic injustices.

Being more and more interested and wanting to go green, I was excited to see the Vatican itself has taken steps to setting an example with adding solar paneling to produce electricity and hosting some scientific conventions to create a forum for people to talk about what we can do to change.

One thing that’s frustrating is when you have good intentions to “go green” but not sure where to start.  It seems like a really big problem.  But it starts with one action – for example, do you recycle? Check if you have recycle pick up or a drop off location.  You can also subscribe to Cool People Care 5 Minutes of Caring. It has some great environmental suggestions and they’re EASY.  Sometimes the biggest changes can be quite easy.

You’ve Got a Friend (and Hope)

When you’re down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.You just call out my name,
And you know where ever I am
I’ll come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And Ill be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You’ve got a friend.

This is one of my favorite James Taylor songs. (Carole King sings a good version of it too, if you’re interested.) This song encompasses a lot of stuff that’s been on my mind lately. The next 7 days are going to be pretty difficult for me. Not only is my schedule going to be pretty much grueling working both days and nights at two jobs but I have an appointment to get 4 cavities filled and have to euthanize my 6 year old cat due to health problems.

I’m sad and it will be hard and I’m sure I’ll probably break down and cry a couple of times or more. But I’ll be ok because I’ve got a Friend. I feel like God sings this song to us all the time. Saying to us constantly, “I’m here. Just call my name!”

Not only that but thankfully my family’s annual get-together will be at the end of this 7-Day hell. So I have that to look forward to. Some people would think 20 people (all mostly their family) crammed into 1 cabin on the side of a mountain would be hell. Not me. I’m looking forward to this much needed vacation and family time.

But I think that’s how we have to take the struggles in this life. When we’re in the midst of our own “hell” and everything seems to be crashing down to just look forward. Even if you don’t have a family vacation coming up or you don’t see an end in sight – you can look to the heavens and think about your eternity. I think it’s an interesting way of looking a Phillippians 3:12-14. Pressing toward a goal – Heaven and eternal basking in God’s great Presence – and putting behind all this suffering. We all have to suffer because of sin and sometimes to help purify ourselves but we can look forward to a time when all the suffering will stop.

You Say Good-bye and I Say Hello

A couple disappointments today, as two friends announced that now they, too, are (one definitely, one probably) moving away. (One of which is a guy I was still *hung up on* a little…)

Sadness.

But it’s just amazing to find God in these instances. Because, you see, God speaks in disappointment (to make you realize that He’s still there), with disappointment (to protect you from things that would lead you away from Him), through disappointment (to give you strength to endure), before disappointment (to prepare you for it), after disappointment (to help you heal from it)…

People (i.e. me) perennially wonder, “Where is God in this time of trouble?”, and yet, they don’t (or can’t) open their eyes to see that He never left and that He’s already answering their prayers before they are even uttered, already working to set things aright.

I got settled in at home after these two news flashes, and found that I’ve received an e-mail and a Facebook message from two friends that I’ve just met within the past month. (And, coincidentally enough, one is a current *hang-up* of mine…) “He giveth, and He taketh away,” no?

Now, not that friends can just be replaced, because they obviously definitely cannot. But those responses were sources of comfort for me. They said that not only am I not alone because I do keep making new friends and multiplying my blessings that way, but it was just a little hug from God, letting me know that I’m okay and that there is still hope for me and a plan.

How great is that?